Process of obtaining nicotin or other volatile constituents from tobacco vapors.



PATENTEDJUNE 2, 190.3.

V G. Hf'IQ'iNDENBBRGER; PROCESS 01? OBTAINING NIGOTIN OR OTHER VOLATILE GONSTIBUEN-TS,

' FROM TOBACCO VAPORS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 27, 1901.

K0 MODEL.

Woman? Witneoeo UNITED STATES Patented June 2, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. LINDENBERGER, or LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, AssIGNO TO THE KENTUCKY TOBACCO PRODUCT COMPANY, OF LOUISVILLE, KEN- TUCKY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY. O

PROCESS OF OBTAIRING NlCOTlN OR OTHER VOLATILE CONSTITUENTS FROM TOBACCO VAPORS.

sPECIEICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 730,032,-datea June 2, 1903.

Application filed m 27, 190 seem. 69,948. (No e i the valuable volatile constituents of tobacco which are carried in the vapors or gases evolved in the ordinaryprocesses of artificially drying, redrying, or reordering tobacco or tobacco stems or stalks, and which vapors have heretofore been considered worthless and permitted to waste; and it consists in the novel method of treating these vapors to recover these valuable volatile products, as herein-' after described and claimed. 7

By my improved process the nicotin, ammonia, pyridin, and other volatile constituents of tobacco and their salts, derivatives,

and compounds contained'in the vapors or gases evolved from tobacco or tobacco-stems or tobacco stalks in the artificial drying thereof are removed therefrom, and to do this these vapors are conducted from the drying apparatus to a suitable chamber, wherein they are subjected to the action of a retaining agent or medium, which will act as a precipitant or absorbent of the valuable products in the vapors or gases, and thereafter said retaining agent or medium may be treated in any well-known way to separate the nicotin, ammonia, pyridin, 850., therefrom.

The accompanying drawing illustrates diagrammatically an apparatus which may be used in carrying out the process; but I do not confine myself to any particular form or construction thereof, as that may and will be varied to suit'the plants of the parties who desire to use the process.

In the drawing, A designates a drier of any suitable kind in which the tobacco stems or stalks may be artificially dried, or redried, or reordered. In the process of drying the vapors or gases evolved from the tobacco are enriched by the volatileconstituents of the tobacco or tobacco stems or stalks, such as nicotin, .pyridin, ammonia, &c. These vapors, however, have heretofore been permitted to waste; but in my invention these rich vapors are withdrawn from the drierA through pipeB I into a chamber D, which may beof any suitable construction (the ordinary apparatus known as a gas-scrubber, if made of suitable material, can be usefully employed) and v in which the vapors are subjected to the action of the solvent or medium. Preferably this chamber .D is divided into compartments E, in each of which is placed a suitable retaining agent or medium having an affinity for the volatile constituents of tobacco contained or carried in the vapors. This medium may be in powdered, granular, or liquid form. Ihave found a sulfuric-acid solution to act efficiently; but other solutions can be used, according to the richness of the vapors and the particular.

element or elements it -is most desired to recover therefrom. The chamber D may be provided with wings or blades F on a rotary shaft G, by which a thorough and intimate contact a gof the vapors and themedium is insured, it

being desirable to bring all the vapor thoroughly in contact with the solvent in the chamber "D, and these blades as they revolve dip into the medium and after becoming wet therewith continue to revolve and come into contactwith the vapors, causing the medium to rapidly take up and retain the nicotin,

ammonia, and pyridin, &'c., in the vapors,

while the purified watery portions of the vapor may be permitted to escape into the atmosphere or may be condensed, as preferred.

If desired, different retaining agents or mediums. may be placed in the different compartments Efor example, amedium having an affinity for nicotin' in one compartment, a medium having an affinity for'some other volatile constituent of tobacco in another, and

so 011. urably separate different volatile elements of tobacco in the process of precipitating or removing same from the vapor. I In some cases the vapors might be subjected to the action of chemicals or gasesprior to being admitted into chamber D to reduce the In this way it may be possible to meastemperature of the vapors or increase their density or facilitate the subsequent cleansing of the vapors and the precipitation of the volatile constituents of tobacco carried oil with the vapors when the latter are introduced into chamber 1), and such step I consider as included within my invention.

By the use of the words retaining agent I intend to cover any form or kind of medium or material which can be usefully employed to recover the volatile constituents of tobacco from the vapors.

By this method of treating the heretofore waste vapors or gases ey olved during or obtained as a result of any of the artificial processes of drying or curing or redrying or reordering tobacco, tobacco stems or stalks, &c. I obtain from such vapors nicotin, ammonia, pyridin, &c. and salts and derivatives or compouncls thereof, whereas heretofore such vapors have been valueless and have been wasted for want of some economical and efiicient process of recovering the nicotin, ammonia, and other valuable volatile constituents of tobacco therefrom.

Having thus described my invention, what I therefore claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent thereon, is

1. The herein-described process of treating the heretofore waste vapors evolved in the ordinary processes of artificially drying, redrying or reordering tobacco, tobacco-stems, or tobacco-stalks, consisting in subjecting such waste vapors to the action of a suitable retaining agent having an aflinity for nicotin, pyridin, ammonia, or other valuable volatilized constituents of tobacco, contained in such vapors, by which such valuable constituents are withdrawn and separated from the vapors.

2. The hereindescribed process of treating heretofore waste vapors evolved in the ordinary processes of artificially drying, redrying or reordering tobacco, tobacco-stems, or tobacco-stalks, consisting in passing such vapors through a chamber wherein the vapors are brought into intimate contact with a suitable retaining agent by which the nicotin, pyridin, ammonia and other valuable volatilized constituents of tobacco contained in or carried by such vapors, are taken up or separated from the watery portions of the vapors, allowin g the watery portions of the vapors to escape from the chamber, and subsequently separat ing the recovered valuable constituents from the retaining agent,substantiallyas described.

3. The herein-described process of treating heretofore waste vapors derived in the processes of artificially drying tobacco, tobaccostems, or tobacco-stalks, consisting in subjecting the vapors after they leave the drier to the action of a suitable chemical which will facilitate the subsequent separation of the valuable constituents of tobacco carried in the vapors from the watery portion thereof, subsequentlypassing the vapors through a chamber containing a retaining agent, and bringing such vapors into intimate contact with such retaining agent by which the valuable constituents of tobacco in such vapors, such as nicotin, pyridin and ammonia, for which the retaining agent has a chemical affinity are separated from the watery portions of the vapors, and conducting the watery portions of the vapors from said chamber, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE II. LINDENBERGER.

In presence of ARTHUR E. DOWELL, JAMEs R. MANsFIELD. 

